Push on to attract more backpacker tourists

Tourism operators say marketing officials need to do more to attract international backpackers to regional Queensland.

A survey by Tourism Research Australia says 566,000 backpackers visited Australia this year.

Visitor numbers to Queensland dropped by about 35,000, compared to 2007.

Tour guide Tony Hopkins says bad media about the weather could still be to blame.

"The backpackers spend on average ^6,000 to $6,500 each when they're in Australia - 35,000 backpackers," he said.

"Even if they only spend half that money in Queensland, we're talking north of about $100 million in revenue that could be going to the local mum and dad operators out there who are doing it bad in tourism."